Community Benefits

Personal Rapid Transit benefits the community by adding to the existing rapid transit network, increasing the availability of transit service irrespective of mode.

Visual impact. Leading PRT designs have guideway that
are only 1-3 feet tall and 3-6 feet wide, mounted on slender posts which can be
as short as allowed by local regulations to permit vehicles to pass under the
guideway.

Ease of construction. PRT support posts and guideway
are quickly and easily installed by teams working from trucks. Because the only
weight being carried are people in small PRT vehicles, PRT posts are only 1-2
feet in diameter and need only a 4-foot-wide hole in the ground. Major
excavation that rips up streets, blocks traffic and demolishes buildings doesn't
happen with PRT. Finally, guideway sections are lifted into place with either a
forklift or truck-mounted crane. It's that simple.

Also described in "Infrastructure Cost Comparisons for PRT and APM," ATS Ltd. 2005

Safety. At 16-25 feet above ground, PRT is up out of
traffic and above pedestrians, pets and children at play. PRT stations have
been designed to be small, well-lit, and "open" so the interior is visible from
the outside. All stations will also be video monitored by a central facility
staff; operators will ensure security as well as assist riders via
intercom.

You'll probably use PRT by yourself or with people you know,
on-demand service means it is unlikely a stranger is going where you're
going at exactly the same time as you. Vehicles will have an Emergency
button which will alert supervisors and cause the vehicle to exit at the
next station (usually less than a minute away). Someday, police and fire
stations and hospitals will have PRT stations, and vehicles could exit
there in emergencies.

Land use. PRT
stations will usually be very small, since small vehicles require only
small platforms, and large space for queues are unnecessary.
Neighborhoods benefit because PRT stations can be sited without
displacing homes and businesses, and in the small footprint of the
finished station.

Because PRT is so inexpensive to build, its use is not limited to high density areas, or require redevelopment around stations to recover its costs. The general idea is that
a community's population density and projected transit ridership create a threshold, below which rapid transit like metros and light rail are not economically viable. By being lower cost, PRT effectively lowers that threshold, making it possible for moderately dense areas to be served by rapid transit. With PRT smart growth planning can be handled on a community-by-community basis -- in fact MORE smart growth could be supported, because in an ideal rail-bus-PRT system every part of a city would have access to some form of rapid transit.

Jobs. Although it is a driverless transit technology, PRT would add to the transit workforce and not make it smaller. PRT would provide new rapid transit service, not compete with rail-based service. PRT vehicles, infrastructure and facilities would create maintenance, IT and customer service jobs.

Neighborhood Traffic. PRT stations won't cause
traffic congestion because stations are only a half-mile apart. Unlike in a
train system, each neighborhood will have its own PRT station, therefore there
is no need to drive or take the bus to reach one: you can easily walk to your
station. And no one will drive from miles away to reach that station, because
their neighborhood will have a station too.

Environment. PRT is electric,
unlike diesel buses it does not release exhaust into the air. There will be no
motor oil or fuel for PRT to spill. PRT also means sustainable
transit that uses energy more efficiently: Buses and trains must meet their
schedules even when partially full or empty; hauling around empty seats
wastes energy. A PRT vehicle runs only when someone needs it. And its slender
rails and short turning radius mean PRT can go around big trees instead of cutting
them down.

Noise. Electric drives
are quiet, and because PRT vehicles are lightweight the smaller motors
are quieter than electric buses. Most PRT vehicles will use rubber or
rubber-like tires on a smooth, nearly seamless surface for a smooth
and quiet ride. The remaining designs plan to use magnetic levitation
in order to have no tire noise at all. Some PRT designs also enclose the
rail inside a housing, which muffles most of the remaining sound. Most PRT
designs will use quiet magnetic-repulsion ("linear induction") motors to perform both propulsion and
braking.

Slideshow

How Will You
Get to the Train?

(Google Doc)

Examples

The elevated structure is designed to offer as small of a visual
profile as possible. Some allow light to pass through the middle of the guideway.
(ATS Ltd.)